Copyright Infringement in the Digital World

Downloading
files from the internet is not a crime, but if you download files for
free which you usually have to pay for, then there’s a problem. The
piracy issue occurs when the copyright owners do not get the amount that
they are due.

Piracy is the illegal copying and selling of
copyrighted materials, but the common misconception is that people don’t
think it matters because no one gets hurt. In reality, the evolution of
piracy from burning CDs and DVDs to digital copying has affected the
global economy. Pirating a physical copy or streaming illegally affects
the livelihood of artists too.

Pirated copies are not always great

Most
of the time, illegal copies do not have the same quality as the legal
content. A pirated movie may have been recorded on a camcorder at the
back of a cinema, so the quality is poor. Its content may be grainy or
black and white at some parts. Copies downloaded from the internet on
the other hand may suddenly stop at some parts and the sound quality can
be very quiet and muffled.

Easy digital access

Downloading
directly from the computer has become popular among internet users
primarily because of the ease of access. Even with the number of sites
that offer legal downloads, there are still file-sharing networks that
offer free access to copyrighted materials. And it’s sad that many are
active in some form of piracy, either through streaming, downloading, or
the old school style of buying counterfeit DVDs.

In any case,
piracy costs the entertainment industry. It is stealing from the
businesses involved in the art. People must remember that nothing is
free. Pirate sites make money through subscription costs or advertising
when a consumer streams illegal content. The operators of these sites
earn from sharing copyrighted materials that they do not own and have no
permission to distribute.

How to minimize the problem?

Having
internet service providers get on board in helping fight piracy and
detect copyright infringements has always been a struggle. It would
require content holders to educate people and private entities to be
responsible, make them understand the importance of copyright, and
encourage them to support different ways to consume content legally like
going to the cinema or subscribing to Netflix and other video-on-demand
sites.

Piracy may not be easy to kill but it can be reduced. Besides, with all the latest technology coming out, we only need to keep up. Also, there are entities that help fight piracy with the use of software to detect copyright infringements.